Council hears proposed sick-leave payout change, new encampment coordinator and care-navigation funding; VOCA hours unclear

Lexington City Council members on Thursday heard details about a proposed change to the city’s sick‑leave payout practice for future hires, a new encampment coordinator position, a partnership and technology funding with Bluegrass Care Navigators, and the uses of a federal VOCA grant for sexual‑assault nurse examiners.

The presentation by Glenda George, director of human resources, said employees hired after July 1, 2025, would not be eligible to receive cash payouts for accrued sick time above 600 hours. George told the council that the city paid about $2.2 million in January 2025 to civil‑service employees who held more than 600 hours of sick leave. "If you don't use any sick time, it will take you five years to accumulate 600 hours," she said, explaining the city would not realize most savings from the change for several years.

Council members pressed for details about timing and fiscal effect; George said the change would not produce immediate savings because accrual to the payout threshold can take multiple years. She confirmed the example payment in January and that the proposed change would stop future payouts for employees hired after the July 1 cutoff.

The council also reviewed a proposed encampment coordinator position that the Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention (OHPI) would add to regular staff duties. An OHPI staff member described the position as responsible for "receiving and responding to reports of encampments, visiting locations of reported encampments to understand activity and level of risk associated, to facilitate service connection with our contracted street outreach vendors, and follow‑up encampments when the time comes for that." The staffer said the coordinator would produce reports, track encampment removal costs and service outcomes, and review best practices to adjust the city’s approach over time. Initial work hours were described as roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the possibility of shifting earlier to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. depending on operational needs.

On public‑health partnerships, Fire Chief Traylor described an agreement with the University College of Nursing that will allow nursing students to do supervised ride‑alongs with the fire department’s medical units and community paramedicine teams. "Their duties generally involve just observation and questioning to try to get a better understanding of the pre‑hospital environment," Traylor said.

Councilmember questions about item N prompted staff to summarize a proposed technology agreement with Bluegrass Care Navigators. A city staffer said the technology primarily stores client and programmatic information and assessments and that program administration will be coordinated from the city’s grants division while Bluegrass Care Navigators will also operate the service elements.

On a related funding question, a councilmember asked about a federal VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant. A city staff member said, "What that does fund is our SANE nurses, our sexual‑assault nurse examiners," and added they would follow up with how many hours per week the grant covers because that detail was not available at the meeting.

The council’s discussion at Thursday’s meeting was informational for staff‑recommended items on the agenda; council members asked for follow‑up on hours and five‑year fiscal impacts. No ordinance or personnel‑classification change was finalized on the floor during the public session; staff indicated additional information and implementation details would be returned to council as needed.

Questions or requests for follow‑up that were recorded included the precise weekly hours funded by the VOCA grant and a further fiscal analysis of the proposed sick‑leave payout change over a five‑year horizon.

Meeting context: the items were heard as part of the council’s new business block; multiple council members asked clarifying questions and staff committed to follow‑up with additional details.